Alligator attacks, kills woman on Hilton Head Island

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (WWAY) — An alligator attacked and killed a woman who was walking her dog at a resort on Hilton Head Island on Monday morning.

According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, it happened around 9:30 a.m. at Sea Pines Plantation.

Sheriff’s Office deputies, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue and Sea Pines Security personnel responded to a lagoon off of Wood Duck Road to a report of an alligator attacking a woman inside of a lagoon.

When they arrived, fire personnel located the woman inside of the lagoon and recovered her body, while deputies interviewed witnesses.

Witnesses told deputies the woman was walking her dog near the lagoon when she was attacked and pulled underwater by the alligator.

The Sheriff’s Office Environmental Crimes Unit, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Sea Pines Security are searching for the alligator, which is reported to be approximately 8 feet in length.

An autopsy will officially determine the cause of the woman’s death. The woman’s dog did not appear to be harmed.

Her identity will be revealed after her family is notified.